Jose Mourinho

[Aga]

Mou SHIRTLESS!! quite rare i suppose

I dont know do I like his chest or not. <_<

[madristar]

He's just ok i guess. Nobody is that perfect!!

[madristar]

Spanish La Liga Weekend Preview

Real Madrid begin their quest to wrest the La Liga title off Barcelona when they travel to Real Mallorca.

Just 12 months after spending in the region of 250million euros on new players and bringing in Manuel Pellegrini as coach, Madrid have again splashed the cash after going a second successive season without any silverware.

On the playing front the likes of Mesut Ozil, Ricardo Carvalho, Sami Khedira and Angel Di Maria have been added to an already star-studded squad, which has seen experienced trio Raul, Guti and Christoph Metzelder move on but otherwise has been kept largely intact.

The big arrival this summer, however, was undoubtedly that of Jose Mourinho, who became the club's 11th coach in seven years soon after leading Inter Milan to an historic treble of Champions League, Serie A and Coppa Italia titles last season.

Under the hugely successful Mourinho, Madrid have won four and drawn two of their six pre-season games, but the Portuguese admits there is room for improvement.

"Our pre-season has been very difficult. With a new coach and six signings, we haven't had much time to work if we want play differently," he said following this week's friendly win over Penarol.

"We are satisfied with how we've been doing and we will improve with time. This is a very young squad, but full of quality.

"The important thing is that we can grow, that we are solid, and to play at a medium-high level while being consistent in our style of play and results."

Mourinho will be up against another new coach this weekend, with Mallorca under the guidance of Michael Laudrup, who took over following the departure of Gregorio Manzano.

Mallorca finished fifth last term - winning 15 of their 19 home matches - but suffered a huge setback in the summer when they were denied entrance into this year's Europa League for financial reasons.

While Madrid have been busy in the transfer market again, two-time reigning champions Barcelona have made just a couple of additions in the form of David Villa - one of eight members of Spain's World Cup-winning squad at the Nou Camp - and Sevilla wing-back Adriano.

However, there is still transfer speculation hanging over Pep Guardiola's side ahead of their season-opener at Racing Santander with striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic a target for AC Milan and the Catalan giants chasing Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano.

With Barca and Madrid both having added further quality to their squads during the summer, it could well be another two-horse race for the league title this season.

Valencia, who finished 25 points behind second-placed Madrid in third spot last season, have lost key duo Villa and David Silva, but their new-look strikeforce of Aritz Aduriz and Roberto Soldado should cause plenty of problems for opposing defences.

A much-changed Los Che meet Malaga, who have a new coach in Jesualdo Ferreira on the bench, on Saturday.

Sevilla were fourth last time out but they go into their opening match at promoted Levante on a low note after this week being knocked out of the Champions League by Braga.

Possibly the biggest threat to the big two in La Liga could come from mercurial Atletico Madrid.

Atletico badly underachieved in the league last season, but they proved their potential in cup competitions by winning the Europa League and reaching the final of the Copa del Rey.

The Rojiblancos have also managed to keep hold of star assets Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan, as well as making some seemingly impressive ventures into the transfer market with the signings of Filipe Luis, Diego Godin, Tiago and Fran Merida.

Quique Sanchez Flores' men, who face Inter in the UEFA Super Cup in Monaco tomorrow evening, play Sporting Gijon on Monday night.

The remaining fixtures on the opening weekend see promoted due Hercules and Real Sociedad facing testing home games against Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal respectively, while Deportivo La Coruna host Real Zaragoza, Getafe go to Espanyol and Osasuna meet Almeria.

[madristar]

REAL MADRID"S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE OPPONENTS!!

AC MILAN(poor Kaka again)

AUXERRE

AJAX AMSTERDAM

[Aga]

[Aga]

[Aga]

[madristar]

Mallorca 0-0 Real Madrid

Jose Mourinho had to settle for a point in his first game in charge of Real Madrid after his side drew a blank at Real Mallorca.

The visitors were largely uninspiring yet created enough chances to have won comfortably with Gonzalo Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo uncharacteristically wasteful in front of goal.

And with Mallorca goalkeeper Dudu Aouate turning in a wonderful display, there was no way through for Madrid's star-studded team.

Barcelona's sparkling 3-0 win at Racing Santander earlier in the day set a marker for Madrid but they were unable to get anywhere near the Catalan giants' level of performance.

Higuain was Madrid's leading goalscorer last season and he almost opened his account for this season after nine minutes.

He was played in by Ronaldo but having rounded Aouate he found the angle too tight and was forced to cross rather than shoot and the chance was wasted.

Ronaldo shot inches wide from 25 yards as the pressure mounted.

Mallorca, coached by former Madrid and Barcelona forward Michael Laudrup, threatened on the few occasions they did venture forward and Gonzalo Castro came within inches of giving them a half-time lead with a left-footed drive which flashed just past the post with Iker Casillas beaten.

Two of Mourinho's summer signings were replaced approaching the hour mark, Sergio Canales and Angel Di Maria going off to be replaced by another new recruit Mesut Ozil and France international Karim Benzema.

The changes gave Madrid added impetus and they continued to lay siege towards the Mallorca goal.

Higuain was put through but again opted to go around the keeper with Aouate getting a hand on the ball to nullify the threat.

Ronaldo was also thwarted by the Israel international with 13 minutes to go.

The Portugal star dallied on the ball when put clean through and rather than shooting, tried to beat Aouate by dribbling round him and slotting the ball home. He managed the first part but the finish was lacking as Aouate got down well to deflect the ball behind.

Aouate made his best save with six minutes to go, blocking Higuain's low shot with his legs after the Argentina striker had been superbly set up by Ronaldo.

With Mourinho getting more agitated on the touchline, his team created two more chances to snatch a late win.

Ozil was denied a debut goal by a Nunes block before Benzema, who continues to look devoid of self-belief, saw a weak shot gathered by Aouate.

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Mourinho: We are far from our best

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has admitted his side were below par, but claimed they still should have won against Mallorca.

Real were held to a goalless draw in their opening La Liga match of the season away at Mallorca.

Big things are expected of the side under Jose Mourinho but the Portuguese's reign did not get off to an auspicious start. Los Blancos were largely uninspiring over the 90 minutes and failed to convert the chances that did fall their way.

Speaking to AS after the match, Mourinho said: "In defence we have not had any problems and that is very good because we had many players in attack and leaving the counterattack open to Mallorca. In spite of that we have been very good, we had no problems.

"We had a huge number of scoring chances, especially in the final stretch, when it is harder psychologically because players feel they are running out of time. We did enough to win the game. With five or six chances, I think we did enough to win."

The biggest culprit on the night was ace striker Gonzalo Higuain who missed quite a few one-on-one opportunities when put clean through by his midfield.

Cristiano Ronaldo, given a free-roaming role by the coach, failed to provide the threat expected of him and later Mourinho acknowledged that the side needed to improve before their next match against Osasuna.

"We are far from our best version. When you're not at your full potential you have to do two things: to defend not to concede goals and take advantage of opportunities to score.

"That is what to do now because in the next fortnight we are not going to be able to work hard. The players are now with their national teams. When they return, Osasuna comes in two days and then two days after is Ajax ... not enough time to work and the risk is losing points.

"It is therefore important to be right at the back and score a goal for three points. So I am disappointed about not taking advantage of the chances but I'm not the type of coach who blames the player who fails to get a goal or in defence costs us going a goal down."

With Barcelona notching up an easy 3-0 win at Racing Santander, the pressure is already on Mourinho's men to step up and get their game sorted out quickly.

[madristar]

Mourinho to usher in a new era at Real

COMMENT

Will another summer spending spree and the arrival of Jose Mourinho finally end Real Madrid’s title drought?

By Aswin Kanumarath

While Barcelona were celebrating their treble at the end of the 2008-09 season, Real Madrid were enduring yet another trophy-less campaign. The summer that followed saw a flurry of changes. Florentino Perez took over as president again and straightaway embarked on assembling the second set of the Galacticos.

Former World Players of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka were snapped up for record-shattering fees, along with marquee players like Xabi Alonso, Karim Benzema, and Raul Albiol. Manuel Pellegrini replaced Juande Ramos as manager.

Fast forward one season and nothing has seemingly changed. Barcelona finished as Spanish champions yet again while Real ended their season without silverware. Just like the previous campaign, Barca embarrassed Real in the El Clasico home and away. Real were also knocked out of the Champions League in the second round for the fifth consecutive season.

Failure has apparently not deterred Perez from his Modus Operandi. He has again spent the summer signing a host of players. He has also replaced the manager. But there are reasons to believe that, unlike last season, this time Real might be genuine title contenders.

Unlike last season, when Perez sought to sign the world’s best players, this time he did one better. He signed the world’s best manager: Jose Mourinho. If there is one man who can take Real’s fate by the scruff of its neck and turn it around, it is this man, fresh from a treble-winning campaign at Inter Milan.

To begin with, Pellegrini was never the man to be handed the reins at Real. He might have transformed Villarreal from a mid-table club to Champions League regulars but managing a club of Real’s stature is something else altogether. Managing Real is as much about managing egos as it is about managing players. Mourinho, having previously handled the likes of Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Didier Drogba, is tailormade for the job.

Moreover, it is an established fact that going by current form Real are the second-best team in Spain. Both Ramos and Pellegrini managed to overcome the rest of the clubs, it was only Barcelona who denied them the title. So Mourinho’s primary task would be to get the better of the Catalans.

Herein lies the problem. Unlike Real, most of Barca’s players are home-grown. They have grown up playing the Catalonians’ unique brand of football from a young age. At Real, every season begins with a new bunch of players added to the existing crop and they are under pressure to get used to playing as one as fast as possible.

It will be Mourinho’s responsibility to instill his philosophy into Real’s current squad as quickly as possible. He has a host of individual talent at his disposal. It falls on him to get the best out of them and make them play as a group.

Also, unlike Ronaldo and Kaka, most of the new signings, though talented, are yet to make it big at club level. Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira may have impressed for Germany at the World Cup but are yet to become genuine world class talents. They will be further spurred on by the opportunity to work under Mourinho, which incidentally is the reason the duo joined the Spanish giants.

Other signings like Angel di Maria, Sergio Canales and Pedro Leon have shown glimpses of talent at their previous clubs. They now have the perfect stage to make the world take notice. They also have that precious something that a World Player of the Year cannot possibly retain: Fire in the belly.

Another signing Ricardo Carvalho has previously worked under Mourinho at Chelsea and Porto. The move for the Portuguese defender speaks of experience and familiarity. Mourinho is not known to be wrong in his judgement.

Despite what was said, Ronaldo did not have a poor first season unless trophies are the yardstick. He scored 33 goals in all competitions and set up another 7. His strike partner Gonzalo Higuain was close behind netting 29 goals and making 6 more. Skipper Iker Casillas, as always, was outstanding in goal as was Sergio Ramos, in his patented wing-back position. Real scored 102 goals in the league, 4 more than Barca did. All this goes to show that Real have no dearth of quality.

Moreover, Mourinho has the unique record of remaining unbeaten in his last 136 home matches, a run that stretches on through his stints at Inter, Chelsea and Porto. Since 2003, he averages at least 2 trophies at each of the clubs he has coached. Every thing about the man points glaringly to the fact that he is the one to end Real’s title-hunt.

After being comprehensively beaten home and away by Barca in the Champions League group stages last season, Mourinho’s Inter returned to oust the holders with a 3-2 aggregate in the semifinals. En route he had also beaten former employers Chelsea in both legs of the quarterfinals.

A man with such elevated standards as Mourinho’s will also have personal milestones in mind. By lifting the Champions League trophy with Inter and Porto, he became only the third coach to win Europe’s biggest prize with two different clubs. He will be aiming to become the first one to make it three. Also, having won the league title in England and Italy, the 47-year-old can now become the first manager ever to win in Spain as well thus earning the football equivalent of the Grand Slam.

For all of Barca’s home-grown players, it could be their former translator, whom they groomed into a coach, who might end their dominance. Come May, if Perez and his boys parade Madrid on an open bus with a trophy in hand, Mourinho will undoubtedly be the Special One.

[madristar]

Mou and Tami

more Mou

crazy mou look at his expression

[madristar]

WOW

[madristar]

Papa Mou

his daughter looks like his wife so much!

[Aga]

[madristar]

Mou

[Aga]

Mou

I've seen the same version with Capello.

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MOURINHO CUTS SHORT THE SQUAD

Drenthe loaned out to Hercules

Real Madrid have loaned Royston Drenthe to Hercules for the 2010/11 season, the capital club have confirmed on their website.

Drenthe becomes Hercules' 10th signing of the summer, and follows hot on the heels of yesterday's capture of French World Cup winner David Trezeguet on a two-year contract.

Alicante-based Hercules returned to the Spanish top flight this summer after an absence of 13 years.

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Mourinho: I'm not Harry Potter!

Jose Mourinho has warned Real Madrid fans not to expect miracles from him, telling them he does not have a magic wand.

The Portuguese oversaw a goalless draw at Real Mallorca in his opening Primera Division match in charge, a result which was something of a disappointment following the fanfare of his arrival at the Bernabeu.

But Mourinho believes his team, including new men such as Ricardo Carvalho, Angel Di Maria and Mesut Ozil, need time to gel.

"Look, I'm a coach, I'm not Harry Potter," he told AS. "He is magical, but in reality there is no magic. Magic is fiction and football is real.

"I have been in Madrid a couple of months and we've had 40 training sessions. Do you know how many training sessions we have had together, including the new signings? Not 10. I repeat: not 10."

The players are still adapting to a new style of play, according to Mourinho.

"The easiest thing for me would have been not to change anything," he said, "to play like we played last year and keep the structure that already existed.

"That would have been easier to start the season, but it would have been misleading. That's not the direction that I want to go."

Mourinho insists he is not overly concerned by the opening draw.

"Early matches are always very strange," he said. "Bayern lost this weekend, Inter drew, Juventus lost, Manchester United drew with Fulham.

"I'll say one thing for the superstitious. My seasons at Porto and Inter always started with a draw.

"In Porto we then won four titles and at Inter we got two in the first season and three titles in the second.

"I do not see a draw as a drama on the first day.

"Winning this game was not a pre-requisite for a great season. But I'm not going to lie, obviously I wanted to win my first game."

Mourinho left new signings Ozil and fellow German Sami Khedira on the bench at Mallorca.

And he explained he wanted to give the pair time to settle into a new culture.

"It's not easy for the Germans," he said. "They do not speak a word of Spanish. They can just say 'buenos dias' and 'hola'.

"The work we do is intense and luckily I have an assistant who speaks some German and has given them my instructions.

"But it's not easy for my message to get across as I wish. In addition, the social life of the group is still zero for them.

"Patience. Give them time."

[madristar]

That was his best press release yet. Love it!

[Aga]

He is good speaker. He could be politic after he finish with coaching.